Medusa's Gaze - 9780199739318

The banded agate bowl known as the Tazza Farnese is one of the most famous and admired objects from classical antiquity. A majestic libation bowl carved on the outside with the head of Medusa and within with an assembly of Olympian gods, the Tazza's opalescent figures and radiant colors have mesmerized emperors and artists, popes and thieves for more than two millennia.

In this, the first book-length account of the "life" of this renowned masterpiece, art historian Marina Belozerskaya takes readers on a fascinating trip through history. That it has survived at all is a miracle. The Tazza witnessed the rise and fall of Cleopatra; the sack of Constantinople by Christian knights in 1204; the flowering of the arts at Tamerlane's court at Samarqand, and, later, in Renaissance Naples and Florence; the rediscovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum; the turbulent aftermath of the French Revolution; and the birth of the modern Italian state. Along the way, the reader encounters the illustrious and the nefarious figures who have come into contact with this prized artifact. It aroused the lust of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Mongol rulers, consoled a heart-broken duchess, inspired major artists like Botticelli and Raphael, tempted spies and thieves, and drew the ire of a deranged museum guard who nearly destroyed it.

Through the prism of this most precious bowl, Medusa's Gaze brings history vividly and intimately to life.